An adjustment under this section shall have the force and effect of law.

(c)Equal Percentage Increase for All Members.—

(1)

An adjustment made under this section in a year shall provide all eligible members with an increase in the monthly basic pay that is the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent) by which the ECI for the base quarter of the year before the preceding year exceeds the ECI for the base quarter of the second year before the preceding calendar year (if at all).

(2)

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), but subject to subsection (d), the percentage of the adjustment taking effect under this section during each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006, shall be one-half of one percentage point higher than the percentage that would otherwise be applicable under such paragraph.

(3) In this subsection:

(A)

The term “ECI” means the Employment Cost Index (wages and salaries, private industry workers) published quarterly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(B)

The term “base quarter” for any year is the three-month period ending on September 30 of such year.

(d)Protection of Member’s Total Compensation While Performing Certain Duty.—

(1)

The total daily equivalent amount of the elements of compensation described in paragraph (3), together with other pay and allowances under this title, to be paid to a member of the uniformed services who is temporarily assigned to duty away from the member’s permanent duty station or to duty under field conditions at the member’s permanent duty station shall not be less, for any day during the assignment period, than the total amount, for the day immediately preceding the date of the assignment, of the elements of compensation and other pay and allowances of the member.

(2)

Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to an element of compensation or other pay or allowance of a member during an assignment described in such paragraph to the extent that the element of compensation or other pay or allowance is reduced or terminated due to circumstances unrelated to the assignment.

If, because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, the President considers the pay adjustment which would otherwise be required by this section in any year to be inappropriate, the President shall prepare and transmit to Congress before September 1 of the preceding year a plan for such alternative pay adjustments as the President considers appropriate, together with the reasons therefor.

(2)

In evaluating an economic condition affecting the general welfare under this subsection, the President shall consider pertinent economic measures including the Indexes of Leading Economic Indicators, the Gross Domestic Product, the unemployment rate, the budget deficit, the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, the Employment Cost Index, and the Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditures.

(3)

The President shall include in the plan submitted to Congress under paragraph (1) an assessment of the impact that the alternative pay adjustments proposed in the plan would have on the Government’s ability to recruit and retain well-qualified persons for the uniformed services.

2003—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–136, § 602(a), amended heading and text of subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Whenever the General Schedule of compensation for Federal classified employees, as contained in section 5332 of title 5, is adjusted upward as provided in section 5303 of such title, the President shall immediately make an upward adjustment in the monthly basic pay authorized members of the uniformed services by section 203(a) of this title.”

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–136, § 602(c)(1), (2), redesignated subsec. (f) as (d) and struck out former subsec. (d) which related to allocation of increase among pay grades and years-of-service.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 108–136, § 602(c)(1), (4), added subsec. (e) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (e). Text read as follows: “Whenever the President plans to exercise the authority of the President under subsection (d) with respect to any anticipated increase in the monthly basic pay of members of the uniformed services, the President shall advise Congress, at the earliest practicable time prior to the effective date of such increase, regarding the proposed allocation of such increase.”

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 108–136, § 602(c)(1), struck out heading and text of subsec. (g). Text read as follows: “The allocations of increases made under this section shall be assessed in conjunction with the quadrennial review of military compensation required by section 1008(b) of this title.”

The adjustment to become effective during fiscal year 2017 required by section 1009 of title 37, United States Code, in the rates of monthly basic pay authorized members of the uniformed services shall not be made.

“(b)Increase in Basic Pay.—

Effective on January 1, 2017, the rates of monthly basic pay for members of the uniformed services are increased by 2.1 percent.”

Provisions relating to adjustment of compensation for members of the uniformed services for prior fiscal years were contained in the following acts:

For adjustment of pay rates under this section, see the executive order detailing the adjustment of certain rates of pay set out as a note under section 5332 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Ex. Ord. No. 11998, June 27, 1977, 42 F.R. 33021, which related to the President’s Commission on Military Compensation, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12110, Dec. 28, 1978, 44 F.R. 1069, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Appendix to Title 5.

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